


memory #??: the first one gone

by mochike



Series: ghosting [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Flashback, Gen, M/M, Role Reversal, it's sidlink if you squint, knight zelda and prince link AU, mentioned character death (?), the au in itself is sidlink centric tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:48:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24443125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mochike/pseuds/mochike
Summary: sometimes, memories are painful. they had been near the whistling hills, rain pouring down upon them, when they first heard of ganon's deeds to the divine beasts.zelda has to look away from where she recalls the memory, not wanting to be haunted by the pained look on prince link's face.-----this work is a part of a series of drabbles consisting of letters, memories, epics, or anecdotes from a role reversal botw au in which zelda is the knight and link is the prince, and all the race representatives link sees in botw are the champions of the old.
Relationships: Link & Prince Sidon, Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Prince Sidon
Series: ghosting [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765306
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	memory #??: the first one gone

It was raining relentlessly all across Central Hyrule when they encountered some wide-eyed Sheikah messengers. Link had been on edge for a while, the stress of recent events obviously eating away at his composed demeanour; Zelda hadn’t been able to do anything but watch as the young prince only became more and more silent and distant.

“Prince Link! Master Zelda!” They called out, first catching the attention of Zelda, who then had to tap Link to snap him back to reality. As soon as the prince came back to Earth and Zelda returned her focus to the Sheikah messengers, she froze up, seeing and  _ feeling  _ the panic in their eyes and body language.

“What is it? What happened?” The prince asked immediately in a trembling voice. Clearly, Link had sensed it as well.

“I- your highness, I’m afraid Vah Ruta has fallen…!” Zelda’s stomach churned, and she felt Link stiffen up beside her.

“What do you mean… ‘fallen’?”

“You see, Vah Ruta- she’s gone red, started malfunctioning, and… she has turned against us. We- we suspect the Calamity has taken control of her.”

“And Sidon? What of Prince Sidon? The Zora Champion? Was he not in Vah Ruta?”

“Well, Prince Link… we’re extremely sorry to say that Prince Sidon has…” the messengers dropped their gaze, unable to finish the news.

A long, heavy silence followed suit. The Sheikah men turned to Zelda.

“Our job is done, so we will be taking our leave now, Champion. Please… please don’t let the prince do anything reckless.” With that and a lingering, mournful look cast at Link, the messengers rode away, leaving just the two blond Hylians to process the new information. Zelda, unable to do much but resort to her duty, turned to look at the stunned prince. The boy in question had fallen to his knees, arms hanging limply by his sides, clouded gaze cast in the general direction of the Divine Beast in question. His lips quivered noticeably as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly as if to speak. Those eyes, however… they conveyed everything about his thoughts, his cognition, his emotions. Zelda saw the shattering of composure in them; the storm of the first three stages of grief, the never ending loop of  _ why him _ and  _ my fault  _ and  _ what if _ ,  _ what if _ ,  _ what if _ -

“We, we have to, Zelda- I- we have to go see, we must…! What if he’s, what if he’s still alive, it’s not like- nobody’s  _ checked _ -”

“Link, no. We can’t.”

“Zelda,  _ please _ , I- surely he’s still, oh Hylia, what if he needs medical attention? He’s still alive, I’m sure of it! Zelda, we must leave now, I order you-”

“ _ No _ . Link, please. It’s too dangerous, and-” Zelda paused, forcefully swallowing down the lump forming in her throat as she stared right into Link’s glazed-over eyes, filled with false hope and denial. “He’s gone, Link,” she whispered out, feeling the hot tears form in the corners of her eyes as she continued to gaze at Link. At that, the boy visibly crumpled, head immediately dropping as he clenched his fists, lean body shaking violently. Just as Zelda began to reach out to console him, Link turned with a grief-stricken, despairing, gut-wrenching yell and struck the nearest tree with his fist, voice breaking at the end as he choked out a sob, dropping to the ground for the second time and curling into a ball. Zelda’s hand flinched away and the tears began falling in earnest as she heard the prince’s muffled wails through the lightening rain, finally breaking. When she finally found it in herself to kneel beside the prince and haul him up into a tight embrace where they could mourn into each other’s shoulders, Link clinging to Zelda’s tunic desperately, the rain had let up completely, leaving only silence to accompany their sorrow.

There it was; the first one gone.

**Author's Note:**

> hope y'all liked that! a certain favourite author of mine inspired me to get back to writing so i decided to post this, which had been rotting in my drive for a while. i originally intended to post this entire series as one work with multiple chapters when i finished writing it, but i think it's more fun this way because it allows me to work bit by bit and chip away at the worldbuilding without having to focus on zelda all the time.
> 
> kudos and comments are much appreciated!


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